Archive

Voices from the Bay Data Preservation

Published in 1997, Voices from the Bay: Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Inuit and Cree in the Hudson Bay Bioregion was a ground-breaking publication that documented the traditional ecological knowledge, concerns, and visions of the local Inuit and Cree. The book has a number of sections that include narrative, images, diagrams, and maps. Much of this material was created using digital technology such as word processors and indexing systems, image scanning, and Geographic Information Systems. In recent years, the authors of the book recognized that the source data and materials used to create the book were not adequately organized and preserved. ELOKA was approached to help rectify this problem. In February of 2018, following a number of consultations and documentation activities, ELOKA Principal Investigator Peter Pulsifer traveled to Timmins, Ontario, to work with lead author, Miriam Fleming (formerly MacDonald) in consultation with Lucassie Arragutainaq. Over the course of several days, source data and materials were organized, documented, and migrated from old formats (e.g. Microsoft Word circa 1997) to current formats as necessary. Post-processing was carried out by the ELOKA team over the weeks following the Timmins meeting. Following the wishes of the Sanikiluaq community and its partners, the digital archive has now been repatriated to the community where it is now being evaluated for use in future projects. ELOKA will continue to work with the community as needed.

Topics Traditional place names, including environmental features and settlements